Quotes About Adversity

I was just proud of myself that, even under extreme stress and adversity, I was still able to do my job and do it well. And still able to earn an income while in prison.

I am used to Suge's behavior, most of our relationship was under the shadow of him being in and out of prison and always being in trouble.

When I went through what I was going through in prison, one of the things that was very distracting was the issue that it's a very dangerous environment. Moving through that process, I had to develop such an intense focus that I had to change my character and be someone else.

I was brought up in a council flat in Islington with only an outside lavatory. And there were plenty of kids I knew who later ended up in prison.

From age 16 to 26, I literally became a man in prison so it was influential in shaping me.

The middle class, that prisoner of the barbarian 20th century.

I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's.

Rock 'n' roll was two pegs below being a prisoner of war back then.

I think I was the healthiest prisoner of conscience in the world.

My first concept was for a game in which you were a prisoner of war and simply had to escape. If you were caught, you'd be brought back to the prison. The idea was for a non-combat game.

I don't know how prisoners of war are ever heroes unless they escape.

People think the restaurant industry is hard and takes no prisoners, but so does baking, so does retail and so does bus driving. You can't blame your job.

Prisoners around the world have said that reading 'The Count of Monte Cristo' helped them get through their ordeal. That's something to aspire to.

The first 13 years of my life, I lived in China. My parents were missionaries there, and I was an only child. Often I felt lonely and out of place. Writing for me became my private place, where no one could come.

I went to a failing school, and by the grace of God, my mother was able to put me into private school, and had she not, I would probably be in a gang or dead right now, because that was the road I was going down.

I think if I had gone to a private school and been coddled a little bit, I wouldn't be as tough as I am now.

My experiences in the military, the private sector, and as a congressional staffer were at times almost enough to drive me crazy. Writing offered the all-too-often-cited creative outlet.

I'm not exceptional. I didn't grow up with privilege.

I think it's disingenuous to believe that being born into a privileged world means you feel like you are having an easy time.

Well, I come from a poor family. My father is a farmer. When I started playing, I wasn't privileged enough to afford hockey pads and a kit, that was out of my reach.

As soon as I got the Nobel Prize my back collapsed and I was in hospital.

Even through all those Pro Bowls, at the end of the day, I was always just a seventh-round pick.

You paid attention to every cornerback that was drafted before you. You always tried to outperform those guys. And for me, that's always been in the back of my mind - starting with not being invited to the combine, of wanting to make sure I had a good Pro Day and then getting drafted at the end of the sixth round.

I was only picking up short-term contracts in the lower leagues. I thought that rather than the game kick me out, I'd be proactive about it.